#WTDarkHorse – Vote for Antjuan Ball in the Dark Horse Dunker Competition. Second round voting ends Wednesday, Feb. 25 at Noon! VOTE HERE!
 
Box Score
 
Season Statistics
 
CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M men's basketball team dropped a close 64-60 decision to the No. 11 Texans of Tarleton State inside the First United Bank Center (FUBC) in Canyon, Texas on Wednesday night. The Buffs had a strong first half and slipped into foul trouble early in the second half before falling behind by as many as eight on two occasions. WT would manage to tie the contest back with just over 30 seconds left but would not be able to pull out the upset as it falls to 16-10 overall and 6-6 in Lone Star Conference play. The Texans improve to 23-2 (10-2, LSC).
 
Though suffering the close loss, the Buffs found themselves ahead on the boards at the end of the day, outrebounding TSU 34-32. However, the Texans would make it to the line 35 times, making 25 of those attempts. That would double up the Buffs who would only be awarded 17 free-throw attempts.
 
Freshman David Chavlovich led the way for WT with 19 points, going 6-for-14 from the floor. He would add two rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Leading all scorers was Mo Lee for TSU with 22 points. Fourteen of his total would come from the charity stripe.
 
WT jumped out to a quick 7-0 run to begin the game. After a 3-pointer by Chavlovich bounced high off the rim and in, Ball would grab back-to-back buckets including a powerful two-handed jam to force a timeout on the TSU bench. After the short pause, a 3-pointer by TSU's Michael Hardge would send the teams into the first media timeout with the score 7-3 and 15:48 remaining.
 
Ball would get right back to it with a rebound two minutes later leading to another dunk to make the score 11-5 for the Buffs with 13:57 on the clock.  Back-to-back triples by freshman Carl White and junior Garrett Brockman would then make the score 17-11 in favor of WT. A 6-0 run for the Texans would then tie it back up at the under-eight media timeout.
 
White knocked down another shot from the perimeter to kick off an 8-0 run for the Buffs. That stretch would also feature a nice alley-oop feed from senior Miles Gatewood, the LSC Offensive Player of the Week, to Ball who bent the rim with a one-handed slam dunk. A jumper and ensuing free-throw by Gatewood would make it 25-17 in favor of the home team.
 
The Texans would manage a 6-0 run again, nearly closing out the half; however, another 3-pointer by Chavlovich would end the half with WT up 28-24.
 
The Buffs went 11-for-28 (.393) from the field in the opening 20 minutes while holding the Texans to just 7-for-22 (.318). The Buffs never surrendered the lead in the first frame, holding the advantage for 18:25 on the clock with the other 1:35 finding the score tied.
 
TSU would come out strong in the second half as it rolled to a 10-2 run, grabbing its first lead of the game at 34-30 with just under 17 minutes remaining. After a quick bucket by White, the visitors would take the next two buckets to jump up 39-32 at the first media timeout of the half. Twelve of the Texans' first 15 points of the half would come off the hands of Lee and TaShawn Mabry.
 
After the timeout, the Buffs would grab six of the next eight points to climb within three with a triple by Gatewood. Hardge would then knock down one at the line to put TSU back up 42-38 going into the next media timeout.
 
WT managed to get things going again as Gatewood set up a triple for White at the left corner, bringing the Buffs back within two. That would leave TSU with the 50-48 advantage with 8:10 on the clock. Both teams would stay tightly contested over the remaining minutes of the game as the visitors took a 58-54 lead into the final media timeout.
 
The Buffs would finally break through and tie the game back up at 58-58 after Gatewood took a trip to the line, making both free-throw attempts with just over a minute remaining. The Texans then managed a trip to the line on their next possession and knocked down both before Chavlovich responded with a tough drive to the basket, laying one off the backboard to knot it back at 60-60. Lee would then weave through traffic to get the winning bucket for the visitors. EJ Reed would then seal the decision for the Texans with two at the line, making the final score 64-60.
 
White added 14 points on the night with six rebounds. Gatewood finished the night with 12 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Also finishing in double-figures was Ball with 10 points to go along with five boards.
 
TSU now takes the all-time series lead over WT, 24-23. The Buffs have now dropped six straight meetings, including two straight at the FUBC.
 
WT will be back in action on Saturday night, Feb. 21, as it travels to Commerce, Texas for a rematch against the Lions of Texas A&M-Commerce. Tipoff from A&M-Commerce Fieldhouse is scheduled for 6 p.m., or at the conclusion of the women's game. The Buffs lead the all-time series with the Lions 47-28; however, have lost three straight, including a 76-75 defeat at home earlier this season. WT's last win in Commerce was a 54-39 decision on Feb. 27, 2013. Live stats and video will be provided by TAMUC Athletics. As always, the game can be heard on 98.7 Jack FM while live updates can also be found by following @wtathletics on Twitter.
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#WTDARKHORSE ANTJUAN BALL: Antjuan Ball has been selected as one of 16 finalists nationally who is competing in the State Farm Dark Horse Dunker Competition. He has now advanced into the second round (eight finalists) of voting which began earlier today and will run through Noon (CT) on Wednesday, Feb. 25. Match ups run in a bracket-style format, where the winner each week advances on until a final fan favorite is selected. The winner of the competition will earn the final roster spot in the 2015 State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships, which will be aired live on ESPN will take place during Final Four Weekend in Indianapolis, Ind. The winner will be solely determined by the fans and ballots can be cast once PER DAY, PER PLATFORM (ex. Twitter, Facebook, Email). It can be found on www.DarkHorseDunker.com.